Portelance helps GNB Voc-Tech past New Bedford

Senior outside hitter Nick Portelance came up with some clutch kills in the third set to keep the Bears undefeated and give them the city championship.

Laurie Los

NEW BEDFORD — For the past two years, head coach Richie Gomes has asked Nick Portelance to come out for GNB Voc-Tech's boys volleyball team.

Each time, the answer was no.

Finally, this season, the 6-foot-7 Portelance said yes.

In his first year of competitive volleyball, Portelance has already become a solid contributor to GNB Voc-Tech's front line.

During Friday night's 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 win over rival New Bedford High, the senior outside hitter came up with some clutch kills in the third set to keep the Bears undefeated and give them the city championship.

"It's only the second week of the season, and he looks like he's been playing volleyball for years," said Gomes of Portelance. "It's very hard to stop someone 6-7.

"He was unstoppable today. Every time he got the ball, he did something amazing with it."

Portelance notched four of his six kills in the third set with his final slam trying the game at 19 and giving the ball back to the Bears, setting off a 6-2 run to clinch the match.

"It was good to go out there and get the 'W,'" said Portelance, who gave up playing golf to try volleyball.

Asked why it took him so long to come out for the team, he said, "I'm stupid, that's why. I should have played my freshman year, but you can't turn back time. Now, I'm here to do whatever they need me to do."

With the graduation of last year's top hitter in Derek Lewis, Gomes knew adding another threat at the net was key for Voc-Tech.

"He was the missing piece that we needed," Gomes said. "In the last three years, we've had walk-ons and we've been blessed. He's fit right in."

The Bears used a balanced offensive attack to capture their third win over the Whalers in two years. Senior Jakeem Gonzalez led the way with eight kills, while senior Andrew Glover added seven and senior Guillermo Solivan had five.

"We make up for not having the big, explosive hitters," Gomes said. "We spread the ball so well they don't know where it's going to go."

The Whalers stuck right with the Bears in a back-and-forth first set that included 13 ties, with the last coming at 19. Voc-Tech took advantage of two straight New Bedford miscues to secure the 25-20 win.

The Bears jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the second set on impressive serving from Glover, only to watch the Whalers come storming back to pull within 16-15. Solivan, who recorded all five of his kills in the second game, slammed down the winning point.

The third set was also a close one with 13 ties with the biggest lead being five points (24-19) by Voc-Tech.

"It was 3-0, but it was a close 3-0," said New Bedford head coach Jeff Longo of the loss. "It was back and forth. It's just us not giving away those little runs.

"They're a very well-balanced team. They're balanced and fundamentally sound because they're experienced. We're getting our experience as we go. We're pretty green as far as volleyball IQ stuff. A lot of our guys are in year two. Athletically we're there, it's just we're still working out some kinks."

WHAT IT MEANS: The win moves the Bears to 6-0, while the Whalers fall to 2-3. During last year's regular season, they split with both teams winning on their home courts. The Whalers will get a rematch on May 9 when the Bears come to visit. "This is only going to drive us forward," Longo said. "The benefit of playing a team twice is if you lose the first time, you can make sure to beat them the second time."

SOUTHCOASTVARSITY.COM PLAYER OF THE GAME: In addition to slamming down seven kills, Glover was on target at the service line with five aces.

LONGO ON THE RIVALRY: "It's exciting to watch when the sport is played the way it should be played. I think it's good experience for the kids to be able to play in front of a big crowd."

GOMES ON VOC-TECH'S BEST START SINCE 2006: "These guys have a chip on their shoulder. Everybody says 'You're not going to be good without Derek Lewis' and we're just proving everybody wrong. The same teams we struggled with two years ago and with all the hard work the kids are putting in, now they're getting the easier wins."

NEW BEDFORD STATS: Dillon Kuehne had a team-high 7 kills, while Quincy Pope added six and Chevaughn Hepburn had four. "We didn't get a chance to establish our offense," Longo said. "We don't have a go-to guy. We have a bunch of guys, but if we're not getting the passes and we're not getting it to the setter, it makes it tough."